Pump box construction



'M'a 19,197Q A. c. LYNCH 3,512,311

PUMP BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed May 1. 1968 FIG.

BLA BI 85 FIG. 6 85 FIG. 7

INVENTOR.

H UGH C. LYN CH United States Patent O 3,512,317 PUMP BOX CONSTRUCTION Hugh C. Lynch, 5569 Lyford Ave.,

Memphis, Tenn. 38117 Filed May 1, 1968, Ser. No. 725,701 Int. Cl. E04b 1/36; E04g 21/30 US. C]. 52-99 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pump box construction and associated mounting of a service station type gasoline dispenser which includes opposingly coplanar arranged inturned flanges respectively on the pump box and gasoline dispenser including upper face surfaces on the flanges of the pump box and lower face surfaces respectively on the flanges of the gas dispenser; and includes shearable bolt means securing the respective flanges in face to face engaging relationship. The bolt members having transverse grooves formed respectively in the shank portions of the bolts and adapted to shear when the gasoline dispenser is hit by an automobile or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention relates to pump boxes and shearable mounting means generally and particularly to such mounting means useful for mounting an automotive type gasoline dispenser on a pump box.

Description of the prior art The old method of anchoring gasoline dispensers on a base was by means of bolts embedded in concrete arranged on the outside of the pump box. In certain prior art embodiments the bolts were fixed in lead shields which were in turn embedded in the concrete.

Certain disadvantages of the old method include:

(a) Embedding bolts in a concrete base required the employment of skilled labor and was a costly installation.

(b) After the bolts had been in service for a while and the pump had to be removed for repairs or the like, the nuts and anchor bolts often broke off and necessitated a costly repair job; it was necessary to drill new holes in the concrete and put in new lead shields and anchors to provide a new support for the gasoline dispenser.

(c) When a gasoline dispenser was his-by an automobile or the like considerable damage was done to the dispenser and dispenser mounting means before the bolts sheared.

(d) Often when a gas dispenser was hit by an automobile or the like, the anchor bolts would pull out of the concrete and the damaged concrete had to be patched and repaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improved pump box construction wherein an economical installation of a gasoline dispenser may be effected: In installing a gasoline dispenser, no holes are necessary-to be drilled in a concrete base nor is it necessary to install lead shields or anchors in the concrete to receive anchor bolts. The inturned flanges of the pump box and gasoline dispenser provide easy access to the pump anchorage. When a gasoline dispenser it hit by an automobile or the like, a positive shear action is assured and less gasoline dispenser damage f; sults. The shear bolts are installed in oppositely arranged pairs and in such a manner that one bolt will bend while the other bolt has sheared. After a gasoline dispenser has been hit by an automobile or the like, it is only necessary to replace the individual shear bolt and nut assemblies; it

Patented May 19, 1970 is not necessary to patch or repair concrete base means as was necessary in prior art gasoline dispenser mounting means. When a gasoline dispenser is hit by an automobile having shear bolt means of the present invention, less damage results to the gasoline dispenser since less force is necessary to shear the mounting bolts. In the construction of the present invention, a neat appearing gasoline dispenser mounting is provided; there are no visible nuts or bolts outside of the pump body to detract from the attractive appearance of the installation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a gasoline dispenser illustrating the dispenser in a normal vertical disposition (in broken lines) and the dispenser in a canted disposition as when hit by an automobile or the like (in full lines).

FIG. 2 is a vertical plane sectional view of the pump box and lower mounting portion of the gasoline dispenser of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pump box.

FIG. 4 is a vertical plane sectional view of the pump box taken as on the line IVIV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a series of shearable bolt members of the type used in securing the gasoline dispenser and pump box together.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the bolt members of FIG. 5 showing the bolt members being sheared.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the bolt members of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of that shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The pump box gasoline dispenser structure of the present invention is indicated by numeral 11 and includes a pump box assembly 13, a service station type gasoline dispenser assembly 15 and fastener means 17 removably securing the pump box and gasoline dispenser together.

Pump box assembly 13 is embeddedly secured in a concrete island 19 typical in service station construction art. A steel curb or fascia 21 is arranged around the concrete body 23 of island 19. Pump box assembly 13 includes a generally rectangular frame 25 formed substantially of opposingly arranged pairs of side and end members 27, 29 respectively joined together in rigid right angular relationship. Side members 27 each are formed of plate stock and include a flat vertical main portion 31, an inturned flange portion 33 extending right angnlarly inwardly horizontally from the upper portion of main portion 31 and a downturned reinforced flange portion 35 defining the distal upper edge of side member 27. End members 29 each preferably include only a vertical main portion and are not provided with an inturned flange.

A horizontally extending angle iron member 39 is fixedly secured bridge-like between end members 29. Angle iron member 39 provides support means for gasoline supply line 41: A U-bolt 43 passes around safety valve 45 of supply line 41 and is threadedly secured by nuts 47 to angle iron member 39. (The gasoline supply line and safety valve means are not illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.) Each side member 27 of pump box frame 25 is provided with a pair of reinforcement blocks 49 fixedly secured respectively on the underside surfaces of side member flanges 33 and spaced equally from the vertical centerline respectively of side members 27. A vertical aperture 51 arranged in the center of each side member flange 33 is adapted to receive the gasoline dispenser mounting bolt members. Pump box assemly 13 is embeddedly secured in concrete island 19 with the upper edge surfaces 52, 53 respectively of side and end members 27, 29 coplanar arranged with surfaces 55 of curbing fascia 21 of island 19.

Gasoline dispensing assembly includes a base portion 57 formed substantially by rectangular arranged upstanding side and end panels and rigid framework including a base part formed substantially of rectangular arranged side and end members 63, 65. Each side and end member, 63, 65 is generally channel-shaped in cross section and includes horizontal main portion 67 and a rim portion 69. Each side and end member 63, 65 preferably is provided with an upturned reinforcing flange 71 defining the interior distal edge respectively of members 63, 65.

A pair of shear bolt assemblies 73 are arranged respectively on opposite sides of a centerline passing through gasoline dispensing assembly 15 and secure the pump box and gasoline dispensing assemblies 13, 15 together with flanges 33 and horizontal main portions 67 being in face to face engagement. Pump box assembly 13 and gasoline dispensing assembly 15 are both hollow, with pump box assembly 13 opening upwardly and gasoline dispensing assembly 15 opening downwardly, so that when they are in assembled relationship with one another as above described a vertical passageway or shaftway 72 is provided in the interior of the pump box and gasoline dispensing assemblies into which flanges 33 and horizontal main portion -67 projects.

Each assembly 73 includes a shear bolt 75 and nut 77. Shear bolts 75 pass respectively through apertures 51, 79

rovided respectively in side members 27, 63 and clampingly threadingly secure the side members together. Each shear bolt 75 is provided with a transversely formed groove 81 formed in shank 83 adjacent bolt head 85. Each bolt 75 is adapted to shear at the shank portion adjacent groove 81 when gasoline dispensing assembly 15 is hit by an automobile or the like and canted as shown in the full line showing in FIG. 1.

Shear bolt assemblies 53 preferably are arranged on opposite sides of gasoline dispensing assembly 15 with the respective grooves 81 of boit shanks 83 arranged in oppositely facing directions as shown in FIG. 5. The bolts 75 are each preferably provided with indicia means as arrows 86 on the heads 85 thereof, as seen in FIG.'7, for indicating the direction that the grooves 81 are facing so that the bolts may be properly oriented. FIG. 6 illustrates the configuration respectively of shear bolts 75 when an automobile or the like has struck gasoline dispensing assembly 15. In the illustration of FIG. 6 it may be considered that an automobile has collided with gasoline dispenser 15 from the left and forces the dispenser assembly in a direction toward the right as viewed in FIG. 6. With an occurrence such as this, shank portions 83 respectively of shear bolts 75 would be sheared as illustrated in FIG. 6. With reference to this figure, it will be noted that the lefthand shear bolt is substantially severed and the righthand shear bolt is canted in a direction to the right and in such a manner as to close groove 81 of shear bolt shank 83. It will be understood that when gasoline dispenser 15 is displaced in such a mannen'supply line 41 will be severed at reduced section 87 and safety valve will automatically close to prevent passage of gasoline from the supply line.

-It will be understood that since flanges 33 and horizontal main portions 67 project into shaftway 72 and shear bolt assemblies 73 are exposed in the shaftway, the shear bolt assemblies 73 are readily accessible for replacement simply by removing the usual removable access panels 89 of gasoline dispensing assembly 15, which are removably held in place by screws or the like not shown, and

then reaching down into the shaftway 72 to manipulate the shear bolt assemblies.

Now while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will of course be understood that various changes and modifications in structure may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

1. A pump box construction and associated mounting of a service station type gasoline dispenser comprising a pump box generally retangular in configuration having an open top defined at least in part by a pair of opposingly horizontally coplanar arranged inturned flanges and with said gasoline dispenser having an open bottomed generally rectangular base defined at least in part by a pair of horizontaly coplanar arranged inturned flanges corresponding substantially in size and configuration to the inturned flanges of said pump box, and including bolt means for securing said pump box flanges and said gasoline dispenser fianges together including vertically aligned apertures formed respectively in the flanges of said pump box and said gasoline dispenser, said bolt means including at least a single bolt and nut assembly arranged respectively on each side of a vertical centerline of said pump box and with the bolt of each bolt and nut assembly projecting respectively through a pair of said aligned apertures of said corresponding flanges of said pump box and gasoline dispenser and with the bolt and nut assemblies cla-mpingly securing respectively the flanges of said pump box and said gasoline dispenser; said bolt member of each nut and bolt assembly including a head portion and being of cylindrical form and including structure defining a semi-cylindrical groove extending transversely of the length of said bolt and partially severing the bolt and additionally includes markings formed on the head portion of said bolt defining arrow means unidirectionally indicating a direction radially of said bolt and in a direction corresponding with the radial direction of open- 111g of the semi-cylindrical groove of said bolt; the gasoline dispenser being adapted to shear away from the pump box when hit by an automobile or the like; said bolt means being in the form of a pair of nut and bolt assemblies arranged on opposite sides of a vertical centerline passing hrough the pump box and gasoline dispenser structure, and with the arrow means formed on the bolt head portion of each nut and bolt assembly pointing horizontally outwardly from said pump box structure and with the arrow means of the pair of nut and bolt assemblies being oppositely oriented.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,867,228 1/1959 Rike et a1. 137--68 2,898,926 8/ 1959 Tsiguloff 137-68 200,104 2/1878 Stone -61 1,296,275 5/1919 Firth.

2,085,074 6/1937 Boyles 85-61 2,734,661 2/ 6 'Settergren 22235 3,172,377 3/1965 Dewar 5299 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,033,111 1958 Germany.

HENRY C. SUTHE'RLAND, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X. R. 

